guideline
Americannoun
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any guide or indication of a future course of action.
guidelines on the government's future policy.
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a lightly marked line used as a guide, as in composing a drawing, a typed page, or a line of lettering.
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a rope or cord that serves to guide one's steps, especially over rocky terrain, through underground passages, etc.
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a rope or wire used in guiding the movement of stage scenery or curtains being raised or lowered.
noun
Etymology
Origin of guideline
Explanation
A guideline is a rule-of-thumb or suggestion that shows or tells you how to behave. If you want to stay healthy, you might want to follow the government's dietary guidelines. Sample guideline: go easy on the salt. In the 18th century, guideline referred to an actual line that you drew on fabric before cutting. So for example, if you wanted to cut a piece of linen to make a dress, you'd draw a guideline on it first to make sure the incision would be straight. The line guided your cut; over time, the word became a metaphor for a guide to any sort of action.
Vocabulary lists containing guideline
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A 4% recommended withdrawal rate, a common guideline, suggests you could withdraw just $20,000 per year, adjusted for inflation.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 19, 2026
The economists considered a family earning between five times and 15 times the poverty guideline to be in the upper middle class—thus their parameters of $133,000 to $400,000.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026
A key shift in the new guideline is the push for screening at younger ages and a broader look at personal risk.
From Science Daily • Mar. 29, 2026
And for the guideline bodies: The precision-medicine framework applied to oncology and cardiology has not yet reached metabolic pharmacology.
From Slate • Mar. 22, 2026
I realized then why he had used our rope sparingly; why he had made my guideline down to east beach from vines instead of rope.
From "The Cay" by Theodore Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
